The Lebanese Army announced the arrest of nine Lebanese nationals and 35 Syrians in the districts of Akkar, Tripoli, Batroun, Baalbek, and Hermel, on charges of “committing various crimes, including opening fire, possessing weapons, using drugs, smuggling people, and illegal roaming.”
In a statement published on its account on X on Sunday, 4 January 2026, the Lebanese Army said it seized quantities of weapons, ammunition, drugs, and military equipment during the operation.
It added that the confiscated items were handed over and that investigations with the detainees have begun under the supervision of the competent judiciary. The army noted that the operation was carried out in cooperation with the Intelligence Directorate, after exceptional security measures were taken, including raids, patrols, and the establishment of checkpoints.
The announcement came days after comments by Lebanon’s Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri, who voiced concern about what has been circulating in the media and among the public regarding movements by loyalists of Syria’s former regime inside Lebanese territory. He called on security agencies to verify the accuracy of this information and take the necessary measures.
It remains unclear whether the arrests targeted former members of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, amid social media rumors about raids on locations where they were allegedly present.
Mitri said in a post on X on 2 January 2026 that Lebanon’s security agencies have a duty to take such information seriously, warning of the risks of any actions that could undermine Syria’s unity or threaten its security and stability, whether carried out inside Lebanon or launched from it.
He stressed the need to avert these risks by strengthening cooperation with the Syrian authorities, based on “trust and mutual respect for both countries’ sovereignty and shared interests.”
al-Jazeera leaks
Qatar’s al-Jazeera channel, citing documents and recordings it described as exclusive, reported movements by remnants of Syria’s former regime in Lebanese border areas, particularly in the village of al-Hayseh (Akkar Governorate, northern Lebanon, in the Akkar Plain).
According to the channel, around 20 former pilots from the former regime’s forces are currently living in Lebanon with their families. The report said they were previously transferred through Iranian channels before being abandoned, and that they are seeking to join groups being organized in preparation for potential military moves.
One document, according to Al-Jazeera, indicated that these pilots are staying at a hotel and are demanding to join forces that are being formed. Other documents, the channel said, revealed that the former commander of the “Elite Forces,” Major General Suheil al-Hassan, had set up a “large” office in Hisah area near the Syrian border, to serve as a headquarters for managing planned military operations against Syria, as part of efforts to reorganize and target Syria’s new government.
The leaks also mentioned a commander described as belonging to the former regime’s loyalists, Mahmoud al-Salman, who holds Lebanese citizenship and is based in the Dahr Bashir area (northern Lebanon). The report said he previously took part in fighting inside Syria, and that preparations are underway for his role in what it described as a new armed mobilization.
Al Jazeera began publishing recordings on 31 December 2025 that it said it obtained from a hacker who placed calls with both former commander of the “42nd Brigade” Ghayath Dalla and former “Elite Forces” commander Suheil al-Hassan, after convincing them he was an Israeli officer in charge of the Syria file.
According to the channel, there are 74 hours of recordings among the three parties, spanning from April 2025 to December 2025.
The channel continues to air the recordings and documents, which it says reveal the involvement of senior officers from the ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in attempts to destabilize Syria and take control of Syria’s coastal region.
The documents showed that the number of fighters affiliated with former regime loyalists reaches around 168,000, distributed across sectors in Homs (central Syria), Hama (west central Syria), Damascus, and the coast, along with deployment maps and a range of weapons that include anti-tank missiles, artillery, and medium and light arms.
The leaks also pointed to financial and organizational disputes between Rami Makhlouf, Assad’s cousin, and Major General Suheil al-Hassan, the former “Elite Forces” commander, amid accusations that al-Hassan inflated fighter numbers to secure greater funding.
The details of these recordings are scheduled to be aired on 16 January as part of the program “al-Mutahhari.”
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